Getac to integrate LiFi technology with rugged mobile computing devices

Getac announced that it is bringing integrated Light Fidelity (LiFi) technology powered by pureLiFi to the rugged market. The announcement means customers across a wide range of professional sectors will soon be able to enjoy the benefits of fully rugged reliability and innovative LiFi connectivity in a single device, unlocking a host of powerful new applications and use cases.

Previously, users wishing to capitalize on the benefits of LiFi technology had to rely on a USB dongle plugged into the side of their device. This approach is vulnerable to a knock or drop, making it unviable in many working environments, such as those found in the defense, public safety, automotive, energy, and manufacturing sectors. With this announcement, users across these sectors will be able to purchase a fully rugged solution with LiFi technology fully integrated into the device. The first Getac device to offer integrated LiFi capability will be the UX10 fully rugged tablet.

LiFi technology

Light Fidelity technology uses light to transmit data rather than radio frequency, which is the case with traditional technologies such as WiFi, LTE, 4G, 5G, etc. This approach has a number of benefits over RF-based technologies, according to the company, including:

• Privacy and security: Light can be more easily contained than radio waves and secured in a physical space. As a result, it is much less vulnerable to hacking or hijacking, while giving greater control over network localization, asset tracking, and user authentication.
• Connection quality: LiFi offers a thousand times the data density of RF-based networks, the company says, resulting in enhanced reliability and interference free communications. LiFi also doesn’t interfere with RF signals, meaning both networks can be run simultaneously in the same physical space.
• Low latency: Light-based data connections have lower latency than RF-based technology, according to the company, which can enable innovation, automation, and the use of advanced applications including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

The combination of rugged reliability and LiFi connectivity unlocks a series of new applications across a range of sectors. These include:

• Defense: Inherently secure, fully rugged communications solutions that can be deployed in the field, thanks to minimal cabling requirements.
• Public safety: Fast on-scene data collection and transmission in emergency response scenarios, aided by high quality, low latency LiFi connectivity.
• Automotive: Fast, uninterrupted data downloads for upgrading vehicle firmware in highly physical factory or workshop environments.
• Manufacturing and energy: LiFi can help turn old infrastructure into IoT (internet of things), aiding digital transformation in areas where there are concerns over RF-based equipment interfering with safety-critical operations.

“At Getac, we work with a huge range of customers across multiple sectors, many of whom have very specific technology requirements and challenges,” said Rick Hwang, president of rugged and video solutions business group at Getac. “Today’s announcement once again demonstrates our commitment to solving these challenges by combining powerful new technologies such as LiFi with our proven rugged devices, to create industry leading solutions that excel in even the most adverse operational environments.”